Car-door mounting



Oct. 1, 1929. H. H. HENRlcKs CAR DOOR MOUNTING Filed sept. 12, 192'5 3Sheets-Sheet 'Oct 1, 1929.

H. H. HENRlcKs 1,730,143

CAR DOOR MOUNTING Filed Sept. 12, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 1, 1929. H.H. HENRlc'Ks CAR DOOR MOUNTING Filed Sept. l12, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Patented Oct. l, 1929 n rra *ra e HAROLD H. HENRICKS, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, ASSIG-NOR TO THE YOUNGSTOWN STEEL DOOR COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND,OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO CAR-DOOR MOUNTING application inea september12, i925. serial no. 55,932.

This invention relates to car door mountings.

An object of the invention is to provide a track arrangement for cardoors for supporting and guiding the same in their sliding movements,which will be simple in construction, efficient in operation, andinexpensive to build.

A further object of my invention is to provide a fabricated hangerconstruction which may be made up from cold pressed metal, to reduce thecost of manufacture, the component parts of said fabricated hangerarrangement being of such character that the same are capable of beingassembled in a simple and effective manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a hanger construction,a roller housing and wheel or roller mounting whereby the inner face ofthe housing is free of ob structions, and a suitable clearance Aisprovided for the roller to minimize friction.

Other and further obj ects of the invention will more clearly and fullyappear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

ln the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 representsa fragment of the car and door structure, showing my invention appliedthereto; Figure 2 is a frag.- mentary, enlarged, vertical, transverse,sectional view of the invention as shown in Figure l; Figure 3 is afragmentary view of a ortion of the car and door structure showing aslightly differentembodiment of the invention; Figure 4 is afragmentary, enlarged, vertical transverse sectional view of theinvention as illustrated in Figure 3; Figure 5 is a front elevationaldetail view of a hanger of the character contemplated by my invention;Figure 6 is a part, transverse sectional, and part side elevationalview, of the hanger illustrated in Figure 5; Figurev7 is a' transversevertical section of the upper portion of the hanger showing the rollerhousing, with the roller mounted in said housing; and Figure 8 is anenlarged, detail, transverse sectional view of the roller used inconnection with my invention.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, 10 represents thecross lintel of the door frame, 11 one of the door posts, and 12 a door,which in this instance is preferably made up entirely of sheetmetal.Disposed on the inner side of the lintel timber 10 is one flange 13 of alintel supporting angle bar 14, the other flange 15 of said bar beingdisposed above the top of the lintel member, and adaptedV to rest uponthe flange 16 of the angle bar 17, the remaining flange 18 of the anglebar 17 being disposed downwardly and fitted into a rabbet 19 formed inthe lintel 10, the flanges 15 and 16 of the angle bars 14 and 17 beingsecured together by any suitable means in the completed car structure,as will be understood. Disposed against the flange 18 of the angle 17 isthe upright flange 20 of an angle bar 21, the flanges 2O and 1S of theangle bars 17 and 21 being secured together by rivets 22 as shown. Theremaining flange 23 of the angle member 21 has its inner edge 24 restingupon the top surface of the'header 25 of the door frame, the flange 23extending outwardly of the door frame and providing the track proper.Secured to the under surface of the flange 23 1s a smaller angle bar 26,the horizontal flange 27 of which projects inwardly i into a cut-outportion 28 in the upper portion of the header 25, the horizontal flange27 be'- ing secured to the under surface of the flange 23 of the traclrproper by suitable rivets indicated at'29. The flange 30. of the anglemember 26 extends vertically downwardly a suitable distance and isspaced outwardly from the outer face of the header 25 to provide arelatively narrow guide-way for the accommodation of the upper edge ofthe door l2.

By the above described 'arrangement it will be appreciated that thetrack member is supported from inside of thevlintel timber so as toprovide a strong and efficient construction.

Secured to the Lipper edge of the door are thehangers 31,preferably twoin number,looth of' which are alike, 'and only one of the same will bedescribed in detail. Each hanger 31 comprises a lower portion havingperforated f Aears 32, by which, and the bottomflange, the

hanger is secured to the door, suitable rivets being employ-ed for thispurpose as indicated at 33. The body portion 34 of each hanger isinclined upwardly and outwardly, and on the inner side of said hanger,the same is provided with a horizontally disposed off-set 35, spacedfrom the top edge of the door, said off-set normally clearing the loweredge of the flange 30 of the angle bar 26, said offset portion 35 havinga rounded or Convex upper surface 35a. As hereinafter described, thedoor is supported from rollers on the track 23, which is in a plane`above the top edge of the door. By employing the rounded or convexsurfaces 35, on the brackets, which rounded surfaces are directly belowthe de'- pending flange 30, tilting or cooking ofthe door, while beingshifted, is definitely limited by regulating the amount of clearancebetween said rounded surfaces and the lower edge of the flange 30. Inpractice, this clearance will be so made that no part of the bracketwill engage with the track section 23 nor will the upper edge of thedoor engage with the flange 27. By rounding the offset 35, the frictionbetween the surface 35EL and the depending flange 30 is reduced to aminimum, regardless of the direction in which the door may-be tilted orshifted.

The body portion 34 is extended outwardly a sufficient distance to clearthe outer edge of the track 23, said hanger being turnedverticallyyupwardly at this point, and provided at its extremity with an inwardlyturned portion forming a housing 135. The housing 135 isprovided with atop wall 36, and spaced inner andI outer walls 37 and 38. The inner ofsaid walls is provided with a ournal opening 39, and the outer of saidwalls is provided withasmallerjournalopening40,said j ournal portionsbeing of a size to accommodate a stepped axle 41, the enlarged portion42 of which is disposed in the larger opening 39 and extends across saidhousing into abutment with the inner surface of the outer wall 38 of thehousing, the reduced portion extending through the smaller opening andoutwardly of the housing, where it is provided with a retaining pin 42,it being rnoted that vthe inner end of the axle terminates in a planecommon with the plane of the inner surface of the inner wall 39. Mountedupon the axle 41 is a roller 43, said roller preferably being providedin its axial opening with a graphited bronze self-lubricating bushing44.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, another embodiment of the invention isdisclosed.. In this construction it is necessary that the track projectoutwardly from the car side a considerable distance. In this arrangementAa Z-bar 50 is provided which extends along the top of the car sideabove the door opening, and is properly secured in position. Secured tothe flange 51 of the Z member 50 by means of rivets indicated at 52, isan extension ,plate 53, which projects beyond the door opening, asindicated at 54, and provides the track proper. Secured to the undersurface of the plate 53 is a small angle member 54a, the

flange 55 of said angle member projecting vertically downwardly asuitable distance and co-operating with the 'door frame to provide aguide for the upper edge of the door 55. Secured to the upper edge ofthe door are hangers 56, which are identical with the hangers 31heretofore referred to, each hanger having a roller arrangement adaptedto cooperate with the track 54; Each of said hangers is also providedwith a rounded or convex off-set 57 adapted to contact with the loweredge of the guide angle 55 for the same purpose as the rounded off-set35a previously described. In other words, the convex or rounded od-set57 will prevent the upper edge of the door proper from engaging any ofthe track structure and will also prevent any other part of the bracketfrom coming in contact with any1 of the track structure.

Referring now to Figures 5 to 8, inclusive, there is shown. a hanger ofa built-up or fabricatedconstruct-ion, the component parts of which areof such design that they may be pressed from cold metal, andsubsequently assembled. Said hanger includes a base portion 100, a bodyportion 101, and a housing made up of complementary sections 102 and103. is above stated, the parts of the hanger are preferably pressedseparately from cold metal in order to reduce the cost of the same to aminimum, one part of said hanger including the base, body portion, andvone section 102 of the housing. The lower extremity of the base portionis flat, and immediatelyl above said portion is provided a pressed,substantially triangular ridge 104, the apex of which is disposedupwardly, and the sides of which slope laterally yof said hanger, thisconstruction affording av shedding member to prevent corrosion andtheaccumulation of foreign matter. The body portion 101 of the hangerisoffset to one side, as best shown in Figure 6, and is curved laterallyto afford amaximum of strength,

the upper portion of said hanger being provided with an inturned,substantially semicircular flange 106, which provides one side of thehousing, the wallr 10K7 of such portion having a journal opening 108.The complement-ary portion of the hanger housing 103 is also providedwith an inturned flange 109 of a size to fit snugly within and overlapthe flange 100 of the member 102, the flanges 106 and 109 being securedtogether by rivets 110. rlheside wall 111 of the member 103 is depressedor inwardly offset as indicated at 112, and the depressed portionprovided with a journal opening 113, it being noted that the depressedporti-on provides clearance from the inner face of the wall 111 for theroller which is disposed in said housing.

The roller which is used in connection with a hanger of this type, isprovided with a hub section 114, which projects outwardly beyond thecorresponding side edge of the tread 115 of said roller, the other hubsection 116 of said roller lying in the same plane as the periphery ofthe roller tread. In the axial opening 117 of said hub is provided aselflubricating bushing 118, preferably of graphited bronze. The rollerof this construction is adapted to be disposed between the side walls107 and 111 of the housing, and in order to mountthe roller in thehousing I utilize a stepped axle 119 yof the same charac ter as the axle11 heretofore referred to, said axle being retained in position by meansof a suitable pin 120. lt will be noted that clearance is afforded theroller in the housing by reason of the depressed portion of the sidewall 111 and by the engagement of the projecting hub 114 on the rollerwith the wall 107, and it will be further noted that the axle 119terminates flush with the outer side of the depressed portion 112. Byinsuring clearance of the roller from each side wall of the housing andby employing a self-lubricat-ing bearing for the roller, the friction ofthe supporting rollers is reduced to a minimum, an importantconsideration in car door structures. Furthermore7 while l havedescribed speciiically the roller bracket and housing as preferably madefrom cold pressings, nevertheless it will be understood that the bracketand housing may be made in other manners while still embodying` certainof the features of the invention.

Particular attention is called to the arrangements as illustrated inldigures 2 and 1. iis hereinbefore described, my improvements areprimarily adapted for doors of sheet metal construction and thesupporting rollers and brackets are also particularly designed for doorsof this type, as distinguished from wood doors, for instance. 1n thetype of doors illustrated in the drawings,-the main portions preferablycomprise relatively thin sheets of metal suitably reinforced by cor-lrugations extended outwardly from the main plane of the door, themargins of the door being additionally reinforced by plates or stripsproviding a multipleply edge. As will be understood, this constructionwill preferably be carried out on all four edges of the door, similar,or practically similar, to the construction illustrated for the upperedge of the door in Figures 2 and 1. With such doors, the main portionor main plane of the door is close to the side wall of the car and theupper et ge of the door proper is relatively thin. rl`his permits theuse of relatively narrow guide ways between the depending flanges of thetrack structures and the adjacent portions of the car wall structure andbrings the main plane of the door within t-he guiding or retainingflanges of t ie track structure. 1t will also be observed that thesupporting rollers, above the top edges of the door, are in planes whichare outside of themain plane `of the door so ythat the points of actualsupport for the door are outwardly of the main plane of the door andoutwardly'of aplane passing through the center of weight of the door.rilhis lfact, taken in connection withthe special formation of theroller brackets or hangers which are carried to points inwardly of theactual points of support, creates a tendency in the door to swingoutwardly from or away from the side wall of the ear. 1n other words,due to the particular mounting and particular style of door illustrated,there is a definite tendency vfor the door to shift or position itselfaway from and out of contact with the side wall structure of the car,which not only reduces t ie friction or binding action between the doorand the side wall during movement vof the door, but is of such naturethat compensation is provided in the event the side wall of the carbecomes bulged and the door will still be permitted free movement backand forth. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, lowerguide brackets are employed for the lower edge of the door, to limit theout ward movement of the bottom of the door, such brackets, however, notbeing deemed necessary of illustration in thisapplication.

While l have herein shown and described what l now consider thepreferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merelyillustrative and 1 contem'plateall changesv and modifications that lcomewithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim: f l

1. A fabricated car door hanger made up of pressed sections, andincluding a bodymember having a pressed housing portion provided with aside wall and a flange disposed at an angle to said wall, and acomplementary pressed port-ion having a side lwall and an integraliiange disposed at an angle thereto, said flange being arranged to fitwithin the flange on said first portion and being rigidly securedthereto, each of the side walls being provided with a journal bearing,and means for providing clearance for a roller adapted to be disposed insaid housing, said-means including an inwardly pressed portion in theside wall of said housing in proximity to the journal bearing.

2. 1n combination, a car side having a door opening with a lintel; adoor supporting track structure including a horizontal track section, avertical section against the lintel, and a longitudinally continuoushorizontal section extending over the top of the lintel; a. guide flangedepending from the under side of said horizontal trac-k section; a metaldoor having its upper edge disposed behind said guide flange; and meansfor supporting the door including a bracket secured to the door andextending to a point above said track section and provided with a rollerriding on said track section.

3. In combination, a horizontally extending track section secured to acar side wall; a guide flangeextending downwardly from the under side ofsaid track section and disposed an appreciable distance inwardly fromthe outer edge of said track section; a door having the upper edgethereof disposed behind said guide flange; and a hanger bracket having aroller engaging said track section along a line disposed outwardly ofthe plane of said guide llange.

4L. In combination, a horizontally disposed track section attached tothe outer side of a car side wall; an angle bar secured to the underside of said track section and having one of its flanges dependingvertically to form a guide flange disposed inwardly of the outer edge ofthe track section; a sheet metal door having the upper edge thereof inline with the plane oiz the main portion of the door and disposedinwardly of said guide flange; and door supporting brackets cooperablewith saidM track section, each bracket having an integral, horizontallyextending shoulder disposed directly beneath and `normally slightlyspaced from the lower edge of said angle bar guide flange to limit thetilting of the door with respect to the track section, the bracket beingsecured to the door substantially in the main plane thereof.

e 5. As an article. of manufacture, a door hanger comprising: a mainsection having a securing iiange at oneend and a iianged, approximatelysemi-circular roller housing rat its other end; and a complemental,iianged, approximately serni-circular roller housing, the flange of saidsemi-housings being telescoped and the flanges rigidly secured togetherby means passing through the telescoped flanges.

In wit-ness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed mynaine this 31st day of August 1925. l

HAROLD II. HENRICKS.

